July 11/12 12:10 pm - Mardis Cyclistes: Race 6 report and results

Posted by Editoress on 07/11/12

Laroche wins with third fastest time in 35 years

Jean-François Laroche (Fantino Mondello-Cycle Régis) won the sixth stage of the Mardis Cyclistes presented by Jean Coutu bicycle races in Lachine with a blistering time of 1:00:31 over the 50km circuit. It was the third fastest time ever achieved in the 35 years of the Mardis where the record stands at 58 minutes and 52 seconds on August 11, 2009. Jordan Brochu (Ekoi-Gaspesien) came in second on the evening, followed by Maxime Vives (Garneau-Quebecor) in third.

photo: Pasquale Stalteri

Dry pavement, low humidity and light winds were perfect conditions for breaking the speed record and many big names were among the 97 riders on the start line, hungry for the $13,000 in prize monies should the record be broken. Course record holder Guillaume Boivin (Spidertech p/b C10) and his team mates Martin Gilbert, Hugo Houle, Simon Lambert-Lemay, and François Parisien were there. Also present was David Veilleux (Europcar). All of these cyclists are professionals who have much experience racing in Europe; in fact until two weeks ago it looked like Veilleux would be selected to represent his team at the Tour de France.

“My team mates again did a great job!” exclaimed Laroche after his stage win. “They chased down the breakaways and, for the last lap, all I had to do was stay behind the wheel of Pierre-Olivier Boily until the final sprint in order to win.” With this evening’s win, Laroche now leads the series with 538 points versus 513 for second-place Jean Samuel Deshaies (Ekoi-Gaspesien). Laroche will thus wear the yellow jersey next Tuesday to show that he is now the man to beat with four stages to go until the grand finale on August 14.

“It is amazing that amateurs like us can beat the pros like Boivin, Gilbert, and Veilleux!” remarked Boily who owns a brewery; Laroche works as a lawyer.

“We started off a little too fast,” offered Boivin to explain his team’s disappointing performance. “The weather was hot and the winds were a bit too strong to break the record.” His team mate, Martin Gilbert offered that Spidertech is taking it easy coming off the recent national championships and considers the Mardis to be more of a training ride. He said the team will be going to Europe in two weeks, come back for the GP Cycliste WorldTour races in Quebec City and in Montreal in September, and then return to Europe until October.

In the women's race, it was Elisabeth Albert (Rocky Mountain Forget Aubin) who won on the evening, followed by Adrianne Provost (Steven’s Cycling p/b the Cyclery) in second and Ruth McLean (Powerwatts FITTIME) in third. The Specialized Mazda team is away in Europe for two weeks, leaving a field of only seven women in Lachine. Albert leads the series with 299 points now, well ahead of second place Catherine Couture (independent) with 233.

The next Mardis stage is on Tuesday, July 17th around LaSalle Park in Lachine.